


Viridescent

by Jeageractive



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Cancer, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 05:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1806748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeageractive/pseuds/Jeageractive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a boy who sat on a specific bench a lot, fed the birds a lot, cried a lot, and was never seen outside without his hood fully drawn up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Viridescent

**Author's Note:**

> My little sister recently got Leukemia and I'm in that stage of much much feels, so I had to vent a little in here.

There was a boy who sat on a specific bench a lot, fed the birds a lot, cried a lot, and was never seen outside without his hood fully drawn up.

Levi watched him from a distance, tried on several occasions to figure out the problem but never really came to a satisfying conclusion. The air was beautiful, the lush greens and summer colours vivid, the pond filled with tiny and palmed sized life. The willow tree cast it's own shadow on him, though, and he remained in the dark _—_ everlasting and misunderstood sadness hovering around him. And yet Levi never approached him, knowing the boy had no obligation to answer his curiosity on such personal matters. 

Soon his IV and monitor joined him on these outings, and Levi understood. A shallow understanding, but an understanding nonetheless. 

He usually sat for an hour so after work in the same park, observing silently. He decided to make that hour a little different one day.

"Do you mind?" 

His skin was sickly pale, build frail, evidence of a previous wiry body still remaining. Levi thought he made a mistake when he noticed the intact eyelashes and thick eyebrows, but remembered that some were able to keep those during treatment. His eyes were the most notable features—stunning, actually, in their reflection of seemingly impossible greens and blues. The boy blinked up at him, almost surprised, before shaking his head at the question that nearly went forgotten.

Levi occupied the empty seat beside him and ignored the feeling that came along with breaking an almost unspoken rule. This rule being the kid's solitary and quiet time. It didn't affect him, apparently, as he continued distractedly feeding some gulls hanging around, creatures Levi often found himself wanting to strangle due to the nuisances they bring along with their existence.

But the boy seemed soothed _—_ and Levi wasn't bothered anyway. They spent some time like this, the older finding it necessary to stir up some conversation from his unexpected visit.

"What kind is it?" It was in his nature to be straightforward, he couldn't help cutting straight to the chase.

The boy seemed unfazed, answer as quiet as his appearance."Leukemia."

Leukemia? As far as cancer went, that was a tiny sliver of hope, but hope nonetheless. It was curable. And it made his distressed state even more confusing.

As if reading Levi's mind, he continued in an explanation."It's a rare type. A little too fast in spreading."

Levi graced him with nothing more than a hum of thought, and that was all the talk they made that day. From then, it became routine, the boy would already be sitting there, wouldn't protest when Levi came and joined him, sometimes they would exchange a few words and sometimes they wouldn't.

His name was Eren and the farthest place he was allowed from his hospital bed was this park, back to back with the hospital.

Levi liked routine _—_ and this one specifically he got very used to. So when he came to the bench one day and found it empty of it's second half, he got a little bothered. With a twinge of worry he wouldn't admit.

The hospital was his first destination, vaguely recalling a last name but in the end, he was able to find Eren's room. The boy had a small quirk in the medication schedule and had to wait through the half an hour after receiving a new type of chemotherapy, and the prospect must have been terrifying with a CPR team and a group of professional paramedics hovering around him in preparation of the unexpected. He apologized to Levi _—_ said man realizing that Eren took their little meetings outside just as seriously as he did.

To accommodate to their situation, he came to visit Eren in the hospital whenever necessary, and remained outside if it was possible. He met Eren's mother along the way, a brilliant character and mother, Eren's best and not as pleasant but still tolerable friend, a bunch of others close to Eren, and found himself slowly getting attached to the boy. At first he thought it was of pity, and he really hated acting upon plain and degrading pity, but he realized it was a much more deep attachment _—_ especially since Eren now refused to call him anything less than a friend. He a boring person, to be honest, and how a child could find something interesting enough in him to befriend, was beyond him.

Eren still didn't smile around him, but maybe the fact that he didn't resist crying in his vicinity anymore made up for it, and considering he threw away the insecure habit of hooding up in front of him, it was a big leap of trust. And recovery seemed like something to hope for a little, even if it was a long and painful road.

Levi had to leave for a business trip one day—a very long one at that, at least two months, and Eren was possibly crestfallen.

"I'll be back for your birthday." He promised, and the prospect was a little uplifting for Eren. Since Hanji worked in the hospital's lab, he subtly asked her to maybe keep an eye on him while he was gone and of course she agreed, anything with Levi and people was her part time job.

As promised, Levi's trip only lasted for the estimated time, and he was back a day before Eren's birthday. He wasn't particularly good at gifts, especially with kids, so he bought something general and personal enough. General because flowers, personal because colours. It was almost impossible to find something even similar to the boy's eye colour, so he picked the closest of blues and greens and whites, colours he often found himself associating with Eren and put together his most innovative bouquet yet. Eren had said something about loving chocolate before, so he threw in an addition of that as well and headed to the hospital.

He made his way to Eren's room in an almost natural manner, stepping straight inside when his knock wasn't answered. Everything drained away from him in the next few steps, the glint in his eye, the swiftness in his step, and was replaced with dread. The room was bare, left only with what the hospital had provided in bed and machines and impeccable clean. Eren wasn't in here. He turned on his heel and made his way to the ward's reception.

"Excuse me. Was Eren Jaeger moved to another room or ward?"

The nurse went through her computer files and shook her head."We no longer have someone hospitalized by that name."

Levi halted in his tracks."What do you mean?"

"I mean he isn't hospitalized anymore. Sorry."

Was she messing with him?"Ma'am, he's supposed to be in here for another year. That's his medication plan."

"Do I look like his doctor to you? This is all the information I have right now."

Hanji. He needed to find Hanji right now and see why she didn't tell him about this.

But of course, she had to go AWOL from the lab as soon as he asks for her. He leaves a message for her at the front desk and leaves the hospital, in a vain attempt crossing through the familiar park and lingering around the willow tree. It wasn't green or lush anymore, the weather had went ice frigid and birds no longer clustered at the foot of the bench, and Levi couldn't find the ability to take a seat. 

Only one thought went through his mind as he drove back home;  _Eren didn't make it._

Eren was gone, Levi had broken a promise and the world went pitch black again through Levi's eyes. It was green, it was beautiful and alive for a short amount of time, but good things never last. They feel good for a fleeting moment, then plunge downwards into nothingness. 

Levi didn't cry, hadn't expected himself to anyway. Eren was simply a quirk of a routine that fell back into it's original state sooner than he thought it would. But he'd be lying if he said it didn't hurt this time, tear him apart from the inside.

Hanji finally decided to text him and show a bit of her existence, saying something about coming over to explain things to him. It was ridiculous why small details would matter when the result is all the same; because Eren was gone now.

He let the doorbell ring, once, twice, maybe five times, just because he could before answering. 

"Levi! Oh my god I was worried about you, just running off like that. You should've waited for me to come and _—_ "

There was someone with her that Levi still wasn't in the mood to pay attention to."What do you want."

"Eren. Is alright." She grabbed his shoulder to emphasize her point."And is standing right behind me."

Levi's eyes instantly flew to the figure behind her, taken aback a little. Eren most definitely did not posses such strongly chaotic hair before, never did look that fresh of out of the sun tanned before, neither did he posses such a lively and cheek breaking grin before. But his eyes, they were unmistakable in their gleam, their swirl of colours and emotion.

And Levi was never as confused or afraid of getting his hopes up before."What...how?"

"I got discharged last month. Didn't want to spoil the surprise." Eren shrugged a shoulder, everlasting smile still plastered on his face. Levi was still having a hard time believing, but couldn't deny it anymore when Eren had pulled him into a tight hug and breathed a lungful of him like the weird child he was. And he could smell it again, the lively wafts of march, could see the greens in the trees again, could hear the soft noises that mingled with the heartbeat against his chest.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Is it just me or were there like, three cancer fics posted all right now?


End file.
